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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737602">Trinkets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PercabethDarling/pseuds/PercabethDarling'>PercabethDarling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Druck | SKAM (Germany)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:07:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,409</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737602</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PercabethDarling/pseuds/PercabethDarling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fatou giving little gifts to Kieu My every day at lunch because they are girlfriends and love each other. But also a little angst because I like that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fatou Jallow/Kieu My Vu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>121</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Trinkets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had started to become a wonderful routine they had going on, one that never ceased to make Kieu My smile. The first time it happened it caused her heart to melt and she spent the rest of the day biting her bottom lip to try to contain her lovesick grin. She hadn’t expected Fatou to make her way towards her and the instas at the beginning of lunch but she definitely wasn’t disappointed. Seeing her girlfriend when she had not planned to always made her day a little bit brighter.<br/>
“Fatou?” Kieu My eyed her girlfriend curiously from her seat on the bench tilting her head up for a quick kiss. Fatou smiled at her brushing a piece of Kieu My’s hair behind her ear.<br/>
“Hey”<br/>
“What are you doing here? I thought you were eating with the cashqueens today?”<br/>
“Hmm, I am. I just wanted to come over and say hi.”<br/>
“Well...hi there.” Kieu My’s dorky response brought out a small laugh from Fatou. They stared at each other lost in the moment with neither girl willing to look away.<br/>
“Hi Fatou.” Ismail called out from beside her bringing them back to earth. Rolling her eyes Fatou turned towards them doing the handshake they had forced Fatou to learn.<br/>
“Are you coming to Zoe’s this weekend? We are having a party.” Their eyebrows wiggled up and down.<br/>
“Excuse me, I did not agree to host the hangout this weekend! And even if I did, it’s not going to be a party.” Zoe butted into the conversion with an insulted look on her face.<br/>
“You did too! You said we could come over.” Ismail insisted equally offended.<br/>
“I did not! I said you have to come by to pick up your stuff from the last party. You left all this junk behind and it's in the way. We keep tripping over it!”<br/>
Disinterested in the argument breaking out around them, the two girls' eyes drifted back towards each other. The dull sound of their friends fizzling out around them.<br/>
“So I may have lied when I said I only wanted to come over and say hi.” Fatou’s voice came out soft, catching only Kieu My’s attention.<br/>
“Oh?”<br/>
“I also wanted to give you this.” A hand tugged at her own gently leaving behind a small object.<br/>
“I made it this morning in between classes because I couldn’t get you out of my head. It, um, reminds me of you.” Fatou paused, rubbing the side of her nose with her hand briefly. “Because, sometimes, um at night, when I look up at the stars, I only see you.” Glancing down she saw a yellow origami star made out of paper. It seemed that it had been folded a few times, with a few creases in the wrong spot, no doubt due to Fatou struggling to get it right. For a moment Kieu My could have sworn she was straight up deceased. No way her heart could withstand being the direction of Fatou’s bashful smile and sweet words.<br/>
“Yeah?” Her response was breathless with hope, her heart aching as it raced in her chest.<br/>
“Yeah.” Fatou confirmed giving her a small nod. Kieu My looked down at the star again before breaking out in a foolish grin. She couldn’t help falling a little bit more in love with Fatou everyday, even if she didn’t even know it was possible.<br/>
“Thank you.” It was simple and probably didn’t take Fatou more than 10 minutes, yet Kieu My couldn't remember an instance that someone had ever been so thoughtful to her.<br/>
“Okay, I should head back before the girls have my head for being late without a valid reason.” Kieu My looked her up and down affectionately.<br/>
“I don’t know, I think this was quite valid.”<br/>
“Maybe so.” Fatou gave her an adorable parting wave and took off the way she came, leaving behind a bisexual mess of her girlfriend. The rest of the day Kieu My would distractedly stare at the paper star on her desk, playing with it in her fingers, smiling like a maniac, and if someone asked what it was or why she was so happy, nobody could blame her for slightly blushing before changing the topic.</p>
<hr/><p>The next day also brought a shy Fatou over at lunch much to Kieu My’s delight. They had gotten very comfortable with each other over the past few weeks, but sometimes they couldn't help the rush that came with being in love for the first time. It made them clumsy around each other, whether it be the quiet stumble over words, or soft giggles in the night as their lips brushed each other's skin. It felt right between them, and sometimes when the giggles faded and the words fell silent, the vulnerability between their eyes spoke a thousand things they didn’t have to say. Other times, however, they were just plain teenagers being idiots.<br/>
“I was skateboarding to school this morning, and I was late so I was going pretty fast,” Fatou started her story, “when I went over a bump wrong and fell.”<br/>
“What? Are you okay?” Kieu My’s eyes were alarmed, checking Fatou up and down for injuries. She seemed fine but Fatou tended to make light about her problems.<br/>
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. That’s not the point.” Fatou waved her worries away quickly. Eyebrows still slightly scrunched together Kieu My relaxed enough for her to continue.<br/>
“As I was on the ground, feeling a little sad and embarrassed for myself, I saw it. The most perfect rock.” Kieu My giggled softly at her girlfriend’s goofiness.<br/>
“And then,” Fatou paused dramatically, “I thought who better to have said perfect rock than my beautiful girlfriend.” Swiping Kieu My’s hand, Fatou flipped it over and brought it up to her lips for a quick peck before dropping a heart shaped rock into it. The edges were slightly smoothed over but the curved part was quite jagged. It gleamed sliver in the sunlight.<br/>
“I love it, it's perfect. Thank yo-” Kieu My spoke before distractedly looking over at Fatou’s other sleeve.<br/>
“Is that blood?” She panicked frantically grabbing at it.<br/>
“What?” Fatou questioned, “oh, yeah. I need a bandaid.” Kieu My looked at Fatou in disbelief.<br/>
“I really did fall, you know.” Fatou quipped at her.<br/>
“Fatouuuu.” Kieu My chastised her before pulling open her backpack to find one. With success she lightly wrapped Fatou’s wound before looking back up at her girlfriend.<br/>
“I think this worked out nicely.” Fatou said with a cheeky smile bouncing on the heel of her foot.<br/>
“I got a bandaid and you got the best rock in the entire world.” Kieu My rolled her eyes, failing hard not to smile at her.<br/>
“You are impossible Fatou.”<br/>
“Hmmm, I think you like it.”<br/>
And just like the day before, Fatou abided her girlfriend goodbye with a promise to see her later that day. Unlike last time though, she found she had Zoe staring at her with a smirk as she pointely glanced down at the rock in her hand.<br/>
“What?” Kieu My asked defensively.<br/>
“Nothing, just glad to see you happy babe.”<br/>
“Yeah, it feels nice.” Kieu My smiled down at herself. You could bet that she fiddled with the rock for the rest of the day all while shaking her head at her girlfriend’s ridiculousness. </p>
<hr/><p>After that Kieu My couldn’t help but eagerly wait for Fatou to show up at the insta’s spot at lunch. She never stayed long, and yet she always left a useless Kieu My behind. One day, Kieu My finally got to try her girlfriend’s cooking. It had been a mess of a morning, Kieu My slept through her alarm because she had been up the whole night due to her insomnia. She had to rush out the door to try and make it to her doctor’s appointment before her first class, all while hating herself for scheduling it early so she didn’t have to miss school. She barely even had the time to text Fatou that she was running late.<br/>
She had thankfully made it on time for both the appointment and school, but she was very grouchy in her first few classes. She spent the time silently huffing and glaring at the wall. Honestly, the only thing keeping her from snapping at everyone was the fact that she was going to be able to eat something at lunch and Fatou would be bringing her a small trinket. All she had to do was hold out a little longer.<br/>
The plan was working out great until lunch came and she realised she forgot hers at home, then all bets were off. Even the insta’s were keeping a wide distance from the hangry girl. That was until like a knight in shining armour Fatou came over with a tupperware full of leftovers she had cooked the night before.<br/>
“I thought you may have forgotten to eat, or would at least appreciate something..oh wow.” was all Fatou said as she watched her girlfriend dive into the food like a maniac.<br/>
Pausing briefly, Kieu My swallowed a bite, “Sorry, too much?”<br/>
Fatou lightly shook her head, “No, I’m glad you like it.” She toed at the ground with her shoe before continuing to watch her eat.<br/>
“How’s your day going?” Kieu My asked in between bites.<br/>
“Good, good. Well, maybe not so good. I need to go see my math teacher for help. I have a quiz tomorrow.” Fatou shrugged nonchalantly.<br/>
“Hmm, you want a study partner after school tonight?”<br/>
“Yeah!” Fatou brightened up beaming down at her, “Kieu My-style?”<br/>
“Kieu My-style.”<br/>
A week had passed and Kieu My soon found herself with a collection of random objects lining a decorative box in her room. From the cap of a soda bottle with the words ‘the galaxy is yours to explore’ written on the inside, a twist tie in the shape of a stick figure, a plasticine turtle with an acorn as its shell, and a dandelion crown that made an appearance on her instagram, Kieu My was happy, really happy. She made a habit out of glancing over at the box when she was studying. Knowing that Fatou thought about and cared for her caused warmth to burst in her chest and she would bite her lip, returning to her homework with a lighter heart.</p>
<hr/><p>The pattern continued for a few more weeks. Fatou’s little gifts got more ridiculous and creative as time went on. She seemed determined to bring something different every time. This day however, began like no other, with Kieu My half-heartedly listening to her friends attempts at conversation as she searched the school yard for her girlfriend. She felt like a little kid on christmas morning, barely containing themselves in excitement. When she did finally appear, Fatou seemed more out of breath than normal, jogging over.<br/>
“Hey, Babe.” She stuttered to a stop in front of her grasping at her chest as she regained her breath.<br/>
“What’s up?”<br/>
“I’m late to a meeting with our bio teacher. I’m still getting caught up and everything,” She paused before pulling out a small folded piece of pink paper from her jacket pocket, “this is for you.” Expectant eyes watched intently as Kieu My reached over for it. Fatou fidgeted with her hands, the movement betraying her nerves. It was odd for Fatou to be so anxious over her presents, but it didn't worry Kieu My yet, rather it was just an observation she made.<br/>
“As much as I want to stay and watch you read it, I really have to go. But I hope you like it.” Fatou leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Kieu My playfully scrunched up her nose at her in response watching her scurry her way back into the building. Her girlfriend was really cute sometimes.<br/>
Kieu My bit her lip looking down at the paper with her name scribbled across it. It seemed to have an air of importance this time, feeling a little more significant in her hands. She eagerly opened it. Tiny colourful sketches of planets and stars were sprawled across the page along with the sweet words:<br/>
‘our love formed like a star<br/>
the right combination of you and me<br/>
at the right time and place<br/>
where we came together<br/>
to transform into something<br/>
I hadn’t seen coming until<br/>
we already shone bright<br/>
brighter than anything I<br/>
could ever hope to witness<br/>
as we grow and change<br/>
I like to think decades from now<br/>
we will also die like a star<br/>
in a supernova of love<br/>
blinding everyone in<br/>
an interstellar explosion<br/>
with the force of an entire galaxy<br/>
and I also like to think<br/>
one day far from now<br/>
we will leave behind a untouchable<br/>
blackhole full of memories that will never<br/>
be destroyed but forever held in<br/>
time and space by the universe<br/>
and my love for you’<br/>
Tears welled in her eyes at the intense emotions swirling inside of her. Kieu My’s fingers traced the words over and over again. Her mouth followed along as she read, the words committed to her memory. A pleased sensation settled over her, peace once deemed unattainable was found. She loved Fatou so much it hurt her. She never met someone who reciprocated her emotions as much as Fatou. Every step she blindly took forward Fatou was right there with her.</p><p>Far too soon the demands of the day forced her up and inside the school with her friends. Kieu My was distracted smiling down at the note as she walked sending Fatou a few pink heart emojis. She missed the knowing looks Ismail and Zoe gave her, and managed to accidentally bump into Constantin in front of the lockers.<br/>
“Kieu My, what is with you lately? God, could you be more obsessed with that stupid piece of paper?” He scoffed at her.<br/>
“I’m not obsessed.” Kieu My denied shaking her head, her posture stiffening.<br/>
“It’s pathetic, what did she even write to you?” He made motions to grab at the letter. Panic struck Kieu My, the note was personal and she could not have Constantin of all people reading something so intimate. She had to do something, literally anything to stop her pounding heart.<br/>
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter anyways. It’s not like I care about it.” Kieu My lied through her teeth, the words ugly and metallic in her mouth. She walked over to the trash can nearby and pretended to throw it out, secretly slipping it up the sleeve of her coat at the last second.<br/>
“Let’s just go to class now, okay?” Kieu My brushed her hair out of her eyes. He looked over her shoulder for a second, smirked and then uncharacteristically backed off turning around to walk forward once more.<br/>
“You alright, Q?” Zoe asked her with sad eyes as they left.<br/>
“Yeah, I’m fine.”<br/>
Much later safely in her room she untucked the letter, reading it for the millionth time. She let it sink into the dedicated box, resting in harmony with everything else that made her heart soar. The feeling she had got her to thinking, if she cherished everything Fatou gave her, maybe if she was lucky enough she could get a smile out of her if she reciprocated the next day. The real question was what silly gift could she give Fatou that embodied the scope of her feelings, but still be something she would have the courage to hand over. Kieu My wasn’t brave like Fatou, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hand over a piece of her heart in broad daylight. </p>
<hr/><p>Though as it turns out, she wouldn't have to. The next day Fatou came over but she didn’t seem that happy. Dark bags under her eyes accompanied a dull smile. Even her walk appeared as though she was dragging herself over, instead of her usual bouncy steps.<br/>
“Hey, Babe.” Kieu My said worry brewing in her stomach.<br/>
“Kieu My, hi.” How Fatou even managed to make the greeting sound off was beyond Kieu My. It reminded her too much of when they first started talking. When Fatou was insecure and her personality quiet.<br/>
“Are you alright?” She hesitated, eyebrows pinching together.<br/>
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know I can’t hang out tonight. We are doing a family thing at the last minute.” Kieu My internally flinched back, Fatou’s words were hollow, her mind scrambled for any reasons as to why Fatou would lie to her. However, she couldn’t come up with anything.<br/>
“Okay, maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow?” She was hopeful, perhaps it was just her imagination. Fatou just gave her that letter, she couldn’t already change her mind about her that soon right? That’d be crazy, Fatou loved her.<br/>
“Maybe. I should go. See you later.” She waited for no response turning around and walking away with her head down. For once, she tore a piece of Kieu My’s heart instead of causing it to grow. Emptied handed Kieu My looked around at the schoolground. What had she done? Was it even her? Did Fatou have a lot going on that she didn’t know about again? Why didn’t she want to reschedule? How come she didn’t bring her anything? It’s not that Kieu My was a materialistic person, she would have been happy with anything, it’s just it had become a pattern. She knew she could count on Fatou to bring her a trinket and a warm smile, but today she was without both.<br/>
She grabbed her phone and opened her messages, quickly typing out ‘Are you not feeling well today?’ and sent it to Fatou.The two check marks flashed, and three dots appeared for a few seconds before disappearing. Kieu My sat there on the bench racking her brain for what could have caused the shift in Fatou’s behaviour. Her foot bounced up and down as time went by with no response.<br/>
After what felt like an eternity, her phone buzzed. She whipped it up to her face.<br/>
‘No, I feel fine. Talk to you tomorrow’<br/>
That’s clearly bullshit but what could she do? For a couple obsessed with space, they struggled to understand and actually practice the concept of personal space in their relationship. She should give Fatou space to breathe right? That was one of their old problems, that Kieu My wanted to talk about things before Fatou was ready to. The right thing to do was give her time and let her come to her. Tomorrow would be a new day, and this would all be in the past. </p>
<hr/><p>Except it wasn’t. Lunch came and Fatou wandered over like usual. Her smile was more familiar than yesterday’s but still not quite right.<br/>
“Fatou!” Kieu My startled to attention, reaching out for her hand. To her relief Fatou accepted giving it a little squeeze.<br/>
“Hey.”<br/>
“How was family night?” Fatou’s head tilted for a second before realisation came over her.<br/>
“Oh, it was fine.” That confirmed to Kieu My that Fatou was lying to her. Pushing aside her own insecurities she tried to work with Fatou instead of against her. Ignoring it for a moment would be okay… as long as they were moving in a direction towards communication.<br/>
“Okay, um, would you like to come over to mine tonight? We could talk or watch a movie if you want?”<br/>
“I have a lot of homework I need to work on.” Kieu My’s face fell, her hand untwining from the other girl’s.<br/>
“But, maybe this weekend?” Fatou asked after seeing her reaction.<br/>
“Okay.” Kieu My stared at her with a blank expression but her eyes seemed dark and wary. Fatou swallowed uncomfortably, glancing around a little as she shifted on her feet.<br/>
“I should go. The girls need my help with something.” With a small smile she was gone.<br/>
Once again Kieu My found herself with a heavy heart and an empty hand. She stared after the girl longingly. She just didn’t understand the shift in her behaviour. Kieu My hated it, she knew she was selfish but she was hoping that Fatou’s reserved behaviour was due to something else not her.<br/>
“Kieu My?” Zoe nudged her with her shoulder playfully.<br/>
“Uh, yeah?” She distractedly responded.<br/>
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense. What did Fatou give you today?” Looking over she saw Zoe filming her with her phone. Kieu My grabbed it out of her hands, deleting the video.<br/>
“Woah, Q. That’s a little much don’t you think?” Zoe reached for it back.<br/>
“Sorry, it’s just. She didn’t.”<br/>
“She didn’t what?”<br/>
“She didn't give me anything.” Zoe paused and looked over at her. The rest of the group turned their attention to the conversation.<br/>
“Isn’t that your thing?”<br/>
“Yeah.” Kieu My’s response was weak.<br/>
“Did something happen between you guys?” She glanced over at the group of concerned friends with a sad face.<br/>
“I don’t think so? I can’t think of anything.” Kieu My threw her hands in the air in defeat.<br/>
“She literally just gave me a love letter. I don’t understand how she could be so, so distant.”<br/>
“Oh.” Constantin muttered with a guilty look on his face causing heads to whip his way. Kieu My’s eyes narrowed in on him.<br/>
“What?” She demanded, standing up quickly.<br/>
“You’re actually into her?” He asked hesitantly, fearful of the intensity of the tall girl.<br/>
“Of course I’m into her, we’re dating.” She glared back at him.<br/>
He backed up cautiously, but it was no use. Kieu My barged into his personal space stabbing him in the chest with her finger.<br/>
“What did you do to my girlfriend?”<br/>
“I did nothing.” He defended with a shake of his head throwing his hand up in surrender.<br/>
“Bullshit.” She jabbed him with her finger again hard enough to make him wince.<br/>
“No, really it wasn’t me. It was you.” Kieu My withdrew her hand, her anger fading into confusion.<br/>
“What? What did I do?”<br/>
“The other day,” He faltered, “she was at the lockers…”<br/>
“What are you even talking abou-” Kieu My froze. Her eyes darted to the distance as she recalled the last few days.<br/>
“No…”<br/>
“She overheard what you said about how you didn’t care about her note and watched you throw it out.”<br/>
“Shit.”<br/>
“Q…” Zoe gave her a pitying look.<br/>
“Fuck.”<br/>
“Q, she can’t be that mad-” Just probably utterly destroyed inside Kieu My thought.<br/>
“Fuck. Fuck. I didn’t even throw it out!”<br/>
“What? We watched you do it?” Ismail pointed out.<br/>
“No, I-, I slipped it up my sleeve. I only pretended to throw it out because I didn’t want you to read it.” She shook her head, her thoughts racing around her head. She had messed up, very badly this time. God, it’s like after the New Years kiss all over again.<br/>
“Q… that’s adorable.” Zoe added unhelpfully.<br/>
“Wait Constantin, you knew that Fatou saw and didn’t say anything?” Ismail gave him a dirty look.<br/>
“I thought she was being honest.” He tried to defend himself.<br/>
“Not cool dude.” Finn spoke for the first time.<br/>
“Look, it doesn’t even matter right now. God Fatou must hate me.” The thought of Fatou thinking that she threw out her note ruined her. Everything made sense, the avoidance of plans, her sad attitude, the lack of trinkets, the lying. If she thought Kieu My didn’t care about the note why would she think that she cared about everything else. Fatou didn’t even confront her, all she did was take a few days to be alone and then came back. How did she even let Fatou think she wasn’t important to her?<br/>
“Kieu My, it’s okay. The fact that she still came over here twice after means she still cares about you. All you have to do is a grand gesture. Show her how much you care.” Ismail said, biting into their sandwich.<br/>
“No, no. Our relationship can’t just be one of us hurting the other only to just do some big romantic gesture to fix everything. Nothing will last that way. I want it to last.” Kieu My blew her bangs out of her eyes.<br/>
“I just need to talk to her. Really talk…” Kieu My drifted off.<br/>
“I gotta go think.” She said, grabbing her bag from the ground and taking off.<br/>
“You got this babe!” Zoe shouted across the distance. </p>
<hr/><p>For this to be different Kieu My knew she had to wait for Fatou to come to her. Not because she needed to be chased, but because she had to respect her girlfriend's processing rate. The suggestion Fatou made for this weekend was good. She didn’t want to rush to fix things only to make them worse. Approaching Fatou now would likely result in a brush off, or a half-hearted reaction. The time and place was important to ensuring that they were both on the same page. She knew Fatou loved her and that this was a miscommunication.<br/>
The time it took to get to Saturday was painful. Kieu My didn’t want to smother Fatou, but she couldn't sit around and do nothing while her girlfriend was sad. She texted her a few times, good mornings and goodnights, thinking of yous, dorky selfies, even sinking low enough to send cat gifs. Needless to say that was a bad idea, but it was too late to take them back. Fatou’s responses were brief but nonetheless there. Kieu My had even gotten a selfie of her with her math textbook. It made her feel better to know that while Fatou was hurt and cautious, she wasn’t completely guarded.<br/>
It was a quarter past 6 when Kieu My started pacing around her room, making sure everything was good. Her main lights were off, and her lamp casted a low glow over the room. She had her box of tokens on her bed, and snacks off to the side. All that was left was for her girlfriend to show up. As if on demand the buzzer rang, Kieu My dashed through her bedroom door quickly buzzing her up. Anxiously she waited for the knock on the door standing right behind it.<br/>
Finally, her girlfriend tapped on the door, and she whipped it open as fast as she could.<br/>
“Woah.” Fatou smiled at her eagerness.<br/>
“Hi.” Kieu My bounced a little beckoning her in.<br/>
“Hey.”<br/>
“Um, my room?” She grabbed Fatou’s coat and hung it up for her.<br/>
“Sure.” Fatou agreed and followed her in.<br/>
Closing her bedroom door behind her, Kieu My gave her a nervous smile gesturing towards her bed.<br/>
“What’s this?” Fatou sat down, hands going to the box.<br/>
“It’s um, it’s everything you’ve given me over the past few weeks.” Fatou glanced up at her before looking back down at the items. Her fingers slowly brushed over everything, as Kieu My bite her lip nervously.<br/>
“I’ve been keeping them in there, uh, since you started to do it.” Kieu My shook her head slightly as she took a quick breath.<br/>
“Why?”<br/>
“Because they make me happy. They make me think of you. I want to keep them special.”<br/>
“They aren’t that special. You can just throw them out.” Fatou pulled back leaving the box on the bed. Her eyes drifted towards the floor dejectedly.<br/>
“No, they are special,” Kieu My insisted, “and so is this one.” She reached into her pocket pulling out the pink note. Fatou looked up in confusion, grabbing it, checking it over before looking back at Kieu My.<br/>
“But I thought…”<br/>
“I would never throw them out,” Kieu My promised, “not even one.”<br/>
She moved to join Fatou on the bed, moving the box into her lap. Fatou watched her, eyes unreadable.<br/>
“That day, by the lockers. I didn’t know you were there. Or, I’d had told you earlier.” Kieu My paused looking Fatou in the eyes praying her eyes showed the vulnerability she felt.<br/>
“I was acting like an idiot. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and everything you wrote. I wasn’t paying attention to anything and Constantin was trying to grab it and read it and… I don’t know. It felt wrong to show him. The way he demanded to see it scared me. I didn’t want him to. It felt like something only I should read. So, I did what I do best, pretend it didn’t mean anything. But it did, it does.”<br/>
“God, Fatou,” Kieu My laughed, “I’m useless everyday before I see you. The best part of my day is when you show up because I finally stop imagining how you’re doing. I stop thinking about if you’re happy or sad or tired or if you’re smiling or frowning. I get to see you for myself. And I love when you bring me something, no matter what it is. I love to know and have proof that you think about me too.”<br/>
“You make my days better. You make my nights better. You make my universe better. I’m sorry I had you doubting that because I don’t. I haven’t for a very long time. I love you.”<br/>
After a long moment Fatou responded.<br/>
“I was hurt. I thought you didn’t care about me the way I do you.”<br/>
“I do care.”<br/>
“I know. It was just hard to see past what my brain was screaming at me. I know you and everything we’ve been through. I knew it didn’t match up, so I stayed away for a few days.”<br/>
“I missed you.”<br/>
“I missed you too.”<br/>
“I ah, slipped the note into my sleeve instead of throwing it out.” Kieu My admitted.<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
“Yeah. It gave me a paper cut, but I can recite it by memory now.” Fatou laughed and reached for her hand. Kieu My’s heart beat steadier knowing Fatou understood her.<br/>
“Fatou?”<br/>
Fatou hummed in reply as she brushed her thumb over Kieu My’s knuckles.<br/>
“I meant to give you this the day after. At lunch. It’s not much but when I was younger I used to make them all the time. I spent the night trying to remember how to do it.” She pulled out a bracelet made out of embroidery thread. The knots made of green, blue, and white thread braided at the ends to tie up the excess string.<br/>
“You made me a bracelet?”<br/>
“Yeah, I thought it would fit your vibe,” she hesitated unsure, “you don’t have to wear it.”<br/>
“No, no, I want to. Put it on me.” Fatou demanded sticking out her wrist. Kieu My smiled and reached out to do so.<br/>
“I made about 5 of these. I kept messing up the knots and starting over. I think I drove my parents crazy.” Kieu My revealed as she tied it to Fatou’s wrist. Admiring it, Fatou looked up at Kieu My with a soft look.<br/>
“I love you.” She whispered.<br/>
“I love you too.” Kieu My licked her lips, slowly leaning in to meet Fatou halfway. They kissed softly, all the longing and love that they had been keeping away from each other the last few days seeping into the kiss. Hands came up to stroke Kieu My’s face as the kiss deepened, the feeling of safety and contentment overcoming her. As they pulled apart, Kieu My rested her forehead on Fatou’s, her nose scrunching up. Fatou ran her hands through her hair, pulling it away from her face. She always wanted to see more of Kieu My, something that filled Kieu My with delight.<br/>
“Do you maybe want to lie down? Catch me up on your life?” Kieu My asked pulling back a little.<br/>
“Yeah, I’d like that.”<br/>
“I have snacks.” Fatou’s eyes lit up. Kieu My playfully narrowed her eyes at her.<br/>
“No eating in bed.” Fatou pouted giving her best puppy dog eyes.<br/>
“Fatouuu.”<br/>
“Please? Just this once.”<br/>
“It’s already been more times than I can count.”<br/>
“Well, then it’s not really that bad is it?”<br/>
“I guess not,” Kieu My’s eyes traced Fatou’s face, “Not if it’s you.”<br/>
The beaming smile she got in response was definitely worth the crumbs she found in her bed the next day. It’s beginning to seem like anything Fatou does is worth the small grievances she finds. If she had to deal with crumbs in her bed for the rest of her life, she thinks she would as long as that meant Fatou was right there with her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, I have been working on this for a while now. Honestly, whenever I'm bored or stressed I just think about Kieutou and this scenario happened to just get overdeveloped so I wrote it. I think since I wrote something it's only fair if someone else writes something back. The tenses may suck and the flow may be little stiff but I think I captured a lot of their personality in this. I dunno. Hope you liked it, or it at least gives you enough to move on with your day without obsessing over them. Let me know what you think! Tumblr:theroverlovestheprincess</p></blockquote></div></div>
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